Street Map
by Insomniabug aka BabyBrown
Summary: Luke and Gail talk before a big undercover assignment. Based on a prompt. One shot. Takes place after the season two finale.


****Characters/Pairings: ****Gail Peck. Luke Callaghan. Gail/Luke.

**Summary**: Luke and Gail talk before a big undercover assignment. Based on a prompt. One shot.

**Spoilers**: Takes place after the season two finale.

**A/N**: Ever since the finale these two have been spawning fics in my head like bunnies. I've literally filled up half a notebook with these two. Seeing as it's 2:30 am, please excuse my inevitable mistakes.

**Disclaimer**: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

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><p>Undercover operations were always desired at Division 15.<p>

To say the first one was interesting would be an understatement. Fresh out of the police academy, the rookies were just itching to get their feet wet and impress their superiors. Of course, it ended up being a disaster. No one could understand how this group of rookies were able to take a simple by the book "John" hunt and turn it into two separate cases. Not just any cases either, but cases involving kidnapping and murder.

From then on, everyone knew this group was going to be the exception to every rule.

This time, the undercover assignment was different. This time, they were no longer fresh faced rookies. Now they were seasoned police officers. Even though they no longer believed every sob story thrown at them, they still had that eager naivety that most of the detectives lacked. This time, the undercover detail was the most glamorous (and dangerous) yet.

Luke and Jerry were working on a human trafficking case and needed three cops to dress up and play dinner party. An upcoming charity event was the first chance they would have to get close to Antonio Grimaldi, a suspected dealer in drugs, weapons and children from underdeveloped countries.

Swarek and Andy were still on suspension so they were out. Not that Luke would have picked them anyway. Even though he knew he had no right to be, he was still jealous and a tiny bit angry over what happened between the two coppers. Nash was specifically requested by Jerry to stay behind in the communications van with them. It was actually more like Jerry not-so-discreetly called out dibs the moment her name came up. It was no secret the two of them were dating but they were nothing but professional while on the job so Luke just shrugged and kept going down the list.

In the end, Diaz, Epstein and Peck were chosen. While Jerry swore they would do great, Luke wasn't feeling too confident in the choices. He knew that Peck and Diaz used to date but that he dumped her for some reason. Then it seemed like the Epstein and Diaz were on the outs for a while. Or at least that's what he thought until he saw the two men goofing around in the weight room the other day. And by the way Peck has been avoiding the two of them like they had cooties, he deduced she was the one being shut out.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Tonight was the night of the dinner party and Luke was busy looking over the details of the case. The charity dinner was taking place in an art gallery in honor of a critically acclaimed sculptor. It was rumored that the Mayor was going to be there so it was crucial everything went without a hitch. The plan started with Diaz and Epstein showing up together as millionaire playboys. They would take a look around and identify all the guests inside with tiny cameras attached to their lapels. Epstein had been extremely excited about this part of the plan. Luke just hoped he wouldn't look too obvious.

After Diaz and Epstein finished their surveillance, Peck was to enter the party and search out the suspected crime boss. It was actually her connections as a Peck that allowed for this operation to happen. After getting strict instructions that this was only a fact finding mission and that under no circumstances were feathers to get ruffled, Superintendent Peck signed off on it. That made Peck their number one inside. She was oddly quiet when Luke told her that during briefing earlier that week.

Still looking at the case file, Luke heard catcalls coming from outside his office. Walking over to his windows, he discreetly peeked out his blinds. Diaz and Epstein had emerged from the locker rooms dressed to impress. They wore matching black three piece suits, which Luke admitted made them look half the part. He then heard someone whistle as Peck walked in behind the other two. She was wearing a long black dress, which he noticed was cut extremely low in both the front and the back. Her platinum hair was pulled up which served to elongate her neck. The only jewelry he could see were a simple pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching bracelet on her wrist. The simplicity of it made her all the more beautiful. There was nothing to distract from her slender neck or where the dress rested dangerously low on the curve of her back.

He had to stop himself from looking more closely at the front of her dress. Hearing the catcalls and whistling coming from the rest of the station, he could tell he was the only one to do so.

Oliver was busy taking snapshots of the three of them, everyone laughing as Noelle pointed out that Diaz and Epstein's posing looked more_ Charlie's Angels_ than _James Bond._ Peck looked strangely distant from the rest of the group. The discomfort wasn't obvious but he noticed it because he was actually looking at her face.

Acting on instinct, Luke opened the door to his office. "Peck, come in here for a second. I want to go over the procedure for when you find Grimaldi." It was the second time she looked relieved to be pulled away by him. The first being when she was teased about the _uniform-stealing-drug-dealer-killing_ vigilante. The others barely noticed her leave the room as Epstein started reciting the script from _Casino Royale_ verbatim.

"How you feeling?" he asked once the door was shut.

She chose to sit on one of the chairs facing his desk and was fidgeting with the clasp on her bracelet.

"I'm great" she said, her smile a bit too wide. Her smile a bit too raw.

Luke took the chair next to her and turned it so he was facing her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He knew from experience that an undercover cop with too much on their mind was dangerous for everyone.

"Nothing. I'm perfect." She replied.

"I'm not pretending that I know you" he started awkwardly and she stopped fidgeting. "But you seem way too quiet for a Peck."

That made her smile. A sincere one this time.

"And how does a Peck act?" she teased, a little bit of fire returning to her eyes.

Luke leaned back and folded his hands over his abdomen. "Well I know for a fact your brother would be gloating to anyone within a three foot radius." He laughed and scratched his brow. "I've seen it first hand."

Her small laugh filled the quiet room. The sound made him feel...honored. He guessed that not many people saw this side of her. And he figured she wasn't laughing much lately.

"He does like to show off" she said between breaths. She then sobered up and smoothed down the front of her dress.

"I'm just nervous I guess." She laughed. "It's funny, I wasn't nearly this nervous being a prostitute. But put me in a $600 dress in a room filled with a bunch of entitled trust fund babies and I'm sweating like a whore in church. Also, I really feel naked without my gun" she added with a smirk.

"Tell me about it." He knew exactly what she meant. It always went against his nature to leave his gun behind for whatever reason.

He hesitated a moment before asking his next question. It really wasn't any of his business but he needed to make sure everyone was in a good head space before everything went down tonight.

"Is everything okay with Diaz? I know the two of you used to date..." he trailed off as her face paled, which was worrying since she was pale enough already.

"Everything's great" she answered in a clipped tone. "Just peachy."

Normally that would be enough for him, especially since he was feeling hesitant about getting to know her better. There was this strange mood that filled the room whenever he was alone with her. A mood that started that first night he gave her a ride to the bar. A mood he was desperately trying to avoid.

But then again, he had the lives of two other cops in his hands.

"If something's going on, maybe between you and Epstein, I need to know. I can't have the three of you going in together with some soap opera drama going on."

By the way her lips thinned, he could tell she was angry.

"Is that the rumor going around now? That I'm the hussy who I broke up their bromance?" She laughed bitterly and got up to leave.

Without his permission, Luke's hand shot out to stop her. He ignored how warm and inviting her skin felt underneath his fingertips. She tensed at his touch and he removed his hand when she glared at him.

"Sorry" his arm hung awkwardly at his side after letting go. It was like he suddenly didn't know what to do with it. To his surprise, she didn't leave the room like she was so eager to a second ago. She just stared at him like she was expecting something. It made him nervous.

"I haven't heard anything but I'm a detective. It's my job to notice things." He smiled tentatively. "And you two did have a fight right in front of me remember?"

The corner of her mouth lifted and he had a feeling it was involuntary. Either way, it was good to see. She let out a long breath and shook her head. "Everything's fine. Chris and Dov are getting along great."

She was leaving out the obvious.

"What about you?" he asked in a low voice. It came out without a second thought. He could tell that surprised her. It surprised him as well.

"I'm dealing with it" was all she said...and it was all she needed to say. He understood what that felt like.

"I need a favor." Gail asked, breaking the almost comfortable silence between them.

"What do you need?"

He watched as she opened the small clutch in her hands and pulled out what looked like a piece of string.

"The boys can wear cameras on their lapels but since this dress leaves nothing to the imagination, Jerry called in a favor." She fingered the string in her hand with a smirk on her face. "It's worth more than my life and I'm supposed to be very careful with it." She rolled her eyes at Jerry's warning.

He saw the object in her hand was actually a silver necklace. He assumed that the sapphire pendant at the end was the camera. She held the necklace out towards him.

"Do you think you could?" she asked, one eyebrow raised in question.

He took the necklace from her outstretched hand and she turned away from him. Her back was now facing him...her dangerously bare back. Gail lowered her neck and his arms circled around her in order to put the necklace on. He tried to keep his eyes centered solely on his own fingers but they kept drifting downwards. She was right when she said the dress left nothing to the imagination.

Luke cleared his throat and undid the clasp on the necklace. Even wearing heels, she was still a head shorter than him, the top of her head reaching his eye line. Stepping closer, he could smell the flowery perfume coming from her hair and felt his mouth go dry. He dropped one end of the necklace.

"Sorry" he said while retrieving the clasp quickly, ignoring the soft feel of her skin. Something as simple as putting on a necklace was making him feel like he was all thumbs.

When his fingers brushed the base of her neck accidentally, he could feel a small tremor go through her. It made him feel slightly better that he wasn't the only one being affected by this weird energy between them.

After an embarrassing thirty-seven seconds, he finally managed to fasten the necklace on and stepped back.

"All done." He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Gail turned around and raised a hand up to the necklace. She fiddled with the pendant for a moment before smoothing it back down onto her chest. "Thanks."

He shrugged in response. "No problem."

"So, how do I look? Hopefully not like an undercover cop." She joked. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

Luke's tongue felt like lead in his mouth. He swallowed dryly. "You look great. Grimaldi won't stand a chance."

Gail looked like she was going to say something but instead just smiled and pointed to the door. "So I'll see you out there."

"Yeah." He replied and watched her make her way to the door.

"Gail?" Her first name felt alien on his tongue. Not in a bad way. Just new. Almost like the first time you kiss someone and realize that yeah, there might be _something_ there. He frowned at the thought. That was a bad road to go down. Especially with her dressed _like that_ in his office. His dark, secluded office with the blinds shut tight. He pushed all thoughts of kissing out his mind.

"You're gonna do fine." He told her. Luke didn't know whether he meant the undercover job or her life but he had a suspicion he meant both.

She ducked her head and nodded, almost shyly, before turning to leave the room. He tried not to notice that she was leaving it feeling slightly more empty than it was before.

Luke went to sit behind his desk. Checking his watch, he realized it was almost time to go. Putting the case file back together, he wasn't expecting to hear the door open once again.

"Hey Luke," Gail called out. He realized that she never called him by anything but his first name. Not even when she was a brand new rookie. Other people call him by his last name or by his job title but not her. He filed it away to mention it the next time they were alone...then slightly wondered what _that _meant. Was he expecting them to be alone again? And why was he looking forward to it?

"Yeah?" he asked quickly when he realized he was just staring at her.

"Assuming I survive this _'mission impossible_,' drinks at the Penny later?"

It wasn't the first time they went out for drinks. In fact, he's been her ride to the bar for the past two weeks. The difference this time, one he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about, was that she actually asked him whether he wanted to have a drink with her. Before, she just demanded a ride and he gave her one.

Luke nodded and cleared his throat. "Later" he agreed, attempting to stay cool and aloof.

Gail then gave him a mega-watt smile. "And you're buying" she said, shutting the door without waiting for a response.

Leaving a slightly bewildered, yet slightly excited detective behind.

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><p><em>Okay so this is my first Rookie Blue fanfic. Please, be gentle<em>.


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